Ukraine RPCV John Guy LaPlante at 80 was the oldest volunteer in the Peace Corps

LaPlante may have felt apart at times, but age didn't keep him from forming new friendships and accomplishing many things during the 27 months he spent in the Ukraine, an independent republic since 1991. In addition to learning Russian, LaPlante established English and French clubs, wrote articles on his experiences for the Peace Corps' website and worked on several projects that he expects will prove helpful to the residents of Chernihiv. "My principal job was teaching English as a second language, so I was teaching English to university students and young people who had started their careers," said LaPlante, who was a journalist at the Worcester Telegram in Massachusetts for years before starting his own communications company. Of the more than 300 Peace Corps volunteers posted in the Ukraine, LaPlante was the only one assigned to Chernihiv at the time, he said. While there, he lived with several host families. While exploring the city, LaPlante discovered the Korolenko Public Library, a 1 million-volume facility that soon became his after-work hangout. "I founded the [English] club and it met in the public library every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine or snow. ... In most cases, I was the first American they ever got to know. I loved working with them in the club and I believe I made friendships that will go on and on." LaPlante said he also discovered the library was "very old-fashioned, operated like our libraries before they discovered computers - so young people were using this library less and less, because it was very hard for them to get to it and to take books out." LaPlante befriended the librarians and urged them to shift their focus to online services. "I thought, 'This library has to digitalize and computerize,' and I started talking to people about it and eventually they started listening to me," he said. "They didn't have any money, but finally they bought a software program that they could use to integrate with the national library system. It will take a lot of time, but they are now on their way."

Caption: This photo shows 80-year-old Deep River resident John Guy LaPlante with some members of the English Language Club he formed while serving 27 months in Chernihiv, Ukraine with the Peace Corps. The club members are young professionals and university students, who met with LaPlante at a local public library every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine or snow. The goals of the club were to encourage the members to practice their English, discuss important topics, and make friends with kindred people--all while giving them the opportunity to meet an American. "In most cases, I was the first American they ever got to know," LaPlante said. "I loved working with them in the club and I believe I made friendships that will go on and on. Wonderful people." DEEP RIVER - - When he joined the Peace Corps more than two years ago, John Guy LaPlante thought he would be utilizing his fluency in French by volunteering in a country where it is the predominant language.

Instead, the 80-year-old Deep River resident found he'd been assigned to Chernihiv, Ukraine, a northern Russian/Ukrainian-speaking city of about 300,000, where the former journalist was given the task of teaching English to young professionals.

He learned a few things along the way, including the fact that he was Peace Corps' oldest volunteer at that time.

"I received an announcement from Peace Corps congratulating me for being the oldest volunteer in the world and I said, 'I would much, much rather be the youngest volunteer in the world!'" said LaPlante, who returned from the Ukraine in December. "The truth of the matter is that there were times in the Peace Corps that I was alienated by my age. I was always the oldest by quite a few years. Everybody was always very nice to me, kind to me, but I felt apart from everybody else because of my age."

So why did he join? A retiree with plenty of life experience and pride in his country, LaPlante said he simply had the time and desire to help others.

"I would go to the Coast Guard Academy in New London and it has a wonderful concert band," he said. "They offer very wonderful concerts in the afternoon, which would always start with armed services medleys, the Army anthem - and all the soldiers would stand up, and then it would swing into the Navy anthem - and all the sailors would stand up."

Never having served in the armed forces, LaPlante always kept his seat, which bothered him.

"It's not just about patriotism, but about altruism, doing a little good in the world," he said.

"I read a story in the newspaper that the Peace Corps was recruiting older men and women. They have maturity, experience. And besides that, I like adventure and traveling," said LaPlante, who has written two books about his post-retirement journeys titled "Around the World at 75. Alone, Dammit!" and "Around Asia in 80 Days. Oops, 83 Days!"

"People go to Peace Corps for many different reasons," he said. "To get away, a broken marriage, a difficult situation. Young people who don't know what to do with their lives and older people who don't want to just sit in their rocking chair, they want to get out and live."

His enthusiasm, coupled with LaPlante's education and abilities, are what got him into the Peace Corps, said Josh Field, the agency's press director.

"The great thing about Peace Corps is that there is no age limit," Field said. "We really respect the fact that we are providing volunteers with the skills and experience to meet the needs of our host countries. Having older volunteers really adds to the experience of Peace Corps. It can be someone who is just out of college to someone who is retired. Everyone can apply their experiences to their volunteerism."

Peace Corps collaborates with local communities in 74 countries. Volunteers work on education, youth outreach, community development, the environment and information technology-related projects in their assigned communities, and receive a stipend for living expenses. About 60 percent of Peace Corps volunteers are older than 30, Field said, and 7 percent are older than 50. As of September, more than 7,600 Americans were Peace Corps volunteers.

Although LaPlante may have been the oldest volunteer while he was in Ukraine, the honor is now held by 85-year old Muriel Johnston, a great-grandmother from Florida who is serving in Morocco providing health education services, Field said.

"Getting into the Peace Corps is very competitive, we only accept about one-third of the applicants that we receive," Field said. "Obviously, Muriel and John had the qualifications that were needed. The beauty about Peace Corps is the volunteers work on a local level with people working on local solutions. That's what we are looking for."

LaPlante may have felt apart at times, but age didn't keep him from forming new friendships and accomplishing many things during the 27 months he spent in the Ukraine, an independent republic since 1991. In addition to learning Russian, LaPlante established English and French clubs, wrote articles on his experiences for the Peace Corps' website and worked on several projects that he expects will prove helpful to the residents of Chernihiv.

"My principal job was teaching English as a second language, so I was teaching English to university students and young people who had started their careers," said LaPlante, who was a journalist at the Worcester Telegram in Massachusetts for years before starting his own communications company.

Of the more than 300 Peace Corps volunteers posted in the Ukraine, LaPlante was the only one assigned to Chernihiv at the time, he said. While there, he lived with several host families.

While exploring the city, LaPlante discovered the Korolenko Public Library, a 1 million-volume facility that soon became his after-work hangout.

"I founded the [English] club and it met in the public library every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine or snow. ... In most cases, I was the first American they ever got to know. I loved working with them in the club and I believe I made friendships that will go on and on."

LaPlante said he also discovered the library was "very old-fashioned, operated like our libraries before they discovered computers - so young people were using this library less and less, because it was very hard for them to get to it and to take books out."

LaPlante befriended the librarians and urged them to shift their focus to online services.

"I thought, 'This library has to digitalize and computerize,' and I started talking to people about it and eventually they started listening to me," he said. "They didn't have any money, but finally they bought a software program that they could use to integrate with the national library system. It will take a lot of time, but they are now on their way."

Another project involved the city's complex transit system of buses, trolleys and van-like vehicles, many of which are privately owned, LaPlante said.

"This is a city of 300,000, bigger than Hartford, and very few people own a car," he said. "The only people that really understood this transit system were the people who were born there and they would go to the same places every day, to church and work. But if they wanted to go someplace outside their neighborhood, it would be difficult."

LaPlante wanted to create a handbook that would explain the transit system and include information on driver qualifications, insurance requirements and the routes offered by each company.

"I wrote a big report in English and it was translated into Ukrainian. Then I got the idea of creating a map that would explain the whole system," LaPlante said. "I thought people could place ads in the book and it would make some money, but there was a big financial crisis in the Ukraine, so I had to settle for a website. I found an artist to create this map and it was finished just about the time that I was to leave."

Upon his return to the United States, LaPlante traveled to visit his daughter in California, where he has been working on a book about his Peace Corps experiences. Titled "Twenty-seven Months in the Peace Corps, A Senior Citizen Volunteer Tells You All," it his third published work. He hopes to see it in print by the spring, just in time for the Peace Corps' upcoming 50th anniversary.

"[John. F. Kennedy] started the Peace Corps in 1961, and already Peace Corps is preparing for a huge celebration," said LaPlante, who will offer free lectures about his experiences when he returns to Deep River in April. "In September 2011, there will be a massive reunion of Peace Corps volunteers in Washington on the mall and a Peace Corps celebration in every Peace Corps country in the world. So this is a very good time to be writing a book about Peace Corps."

Community groups interested in hosting a talk by LaPlante can go to www.john-guy-laplante.com for information.

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Story Source: Hartford Courant

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ukraine; Older Volunteers; Libraries

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